A Whole New World

Hello my lovelies it’s time for an overdue update! With this seemingly never-ending winter looking like it’s finally coming to a close I decided that it was finally time to go see Aladdin. After an early wake up call, a three and a half hour wait for rush tickets (and trust me that was no where near my longest- I got to the Matilda rush line last spring at 5am and Pippin at 6), Starbucks, lunch and some good ole retail therapy the curtain finally went up and I have to say Disney knows how to win my heart!

I was born in the early 90’s during the Disney Renaissance Period and grew up with all those movies playing on a constant loop on my family's VHS player. It was movies like Aladdin that I loved as a kid making this new Disney incarnation a must see! By the end of “Arabian Nights” I was already head over heels for this show-trust me it’s worth the admission price just to see these musical numbers- I had tears in my eyes during “A Whole New World.” It was worth every second waiting in that rush line, hearing “Let It Go” blast through my alarm at 5:30 in the morning and all that jazz.

I tweeted during intermission that we are looking at a serious contender for this years Tony for best Musical and trust me we are. One of the amazing things about Disney is that they know how to put on a good, quality show for all ages. I’ve never seen anything from them that has been too childish, cheesy or too adult like. They carefully choose their pieces and make them equally appealing for anyone, which I think, is something that makes them stand out. Aladdin is no different. The story is essentially the same from the film-I won’t bore you with the plot that I’m sure you all already know but with a few new characters and touches such as Aladdin’s trio of friends. The music is astounding with all the films ones and a host of new ones and some that didn’t make it into the classic film. I don’t know if you guys know this but there were 14 songs written for Aladdin but only 6 made it in. This stage adaptation gives life to most of those songs while adding new ones that all work so beautifully with the ones that we all know and love. And the costumes-now let me tell you they are absolutely STUNNING! My friend Bernadette is the costume assistant at the show and just her verbal descriptions of them got me excited! They are no lie some of the most beautiful pieces of clothing that I’ve ever seen-the bright colors, the glitter and the oodles of Swarovski crystals that are no doubt sewn by hand into many of those costumes is just incredible. From my seat in the mezzanine I could see the sparkle of the crystals and all of the set and the effects, which I also loved. The sets are wonderful but what I really loved was the visually stunning effects. I don’t want to say much and spoil it for all you but the Magic Carpet has to be my favorite as it really completed my Aladdin experience.

Of course I can’t talk about this show with talking about this cast. Disney did such a phenomenal job casting them. It’s hard to play a role that is so iconic that millions have seen on film and recreate it with your own spin while still honoring the original work but this cast along with every other Disney cast I’ve seen finds that perfect balance. James Monroe Iglehart who plays the Genie (and who I also saw in Memphis) is so funny and captures that humor of the Genie so beautifully. It’s perfect that he opens the show because he sets that humorous tone with the audience and you love him within the first minute-he also has more comedy under his thumb than I do in my whole body. Like what Robin Williams did in the films, whenever you see him you know you’re going to laugh and cheer for him. Jonathan Freeman (he was awesome in Little Mermaid) who voiced the villain Jafar in the films recreates the role for the stage. It’s such a treat to see something like that because not only are you hearing the voice that you’ve heard for years in the films but you’re seeing him do it in full costume with all the mannerisms and literally bringing the role from the recording booth to the stage. It’s what makes it incredible and something that you need to see. Adam Jacobs who our title character and hero Aladdin is a. a dead ringer for the street rat turned prince and b. an incredible performer. He brings this nice gentle touch to Aladdin that from the first time he and Jasmine meet you’re rooting for him, you want him to succeed, you want him to get the girl. Courtney Reed who plays the princess Jasmine is absolutely phenomenal. Now, before I continue I need to say that I am a huge fan of the Disney Princesses. I was that kid who wore princess clothes everyday, a toy box filled with princess dress up and accessories and had princess everything. My mom has told me that there was a point when I was about 4 to 5 where I would usually wear only things with a princess on it! My first cast album was actually a cassette of Beauty and the Beast and I worshipped Susan Eagan as a kid. On career day in the first grade I came dressed up as Belle (my favorite with Elsa now in a close second) cause I was going to work at Disney World and be Belle it was that simple there was no changing my mind. While I have long since outgrown my first grade career dream I still and always will love the princesses-yes I’m that girl in her early 20’s who has the princess movies on DVD and still wanders into the Disney Store every now and again. So to me, if you play a Disney Princess I have very high expectations. Courtney did not disappoint at all-she’s joining the ranks of other amazing original Disney Princesses Susan Egan and Sierra Boggess. Jasmine is kind and caring but she’s a tough cookie as she’s a little feisty but staunchly independent like some of the newer princesses we’ve seen like Rapunzel and Elsa. Ms. Reed brings all that to the role and more. Her singing is beautiful and I know I tweeted this earlier but Broadway legend Lea Salonga who was the singing voice for Jasmine in the film (and also for Mulan) will be proud because she does the role justice that all the princess fans will be thrilled. Like I said last season about Keala Settle and what I’ve been saying about Annaleigh Ashford-this girl is going places and is star in the making with this role.

In case you couldn’t tell this production blew me away! Disney never cease to amaze me and make me fall in love with these stories all over again-I broke out my DVD of Aladdin today and was humming “A Whole New World” while I got dressed. I left the theater wanting to come back and see the show again which is always a sign of something great. Disney has captured lightening in a bottle again and I’ll see you at the Tony’s Aladdin!

When Are You a Theater Nerd?

Hey all! So last night I was watching Les Mis with a pack of tissues as usual while being a total theater nerd. Les Mis was the show that many years ago got me hooked on theater (trust me you’ll hear more about this in a future post) and I was sobbing over “A Little Fall of Rain” I started to think when do you become a theater nerd?

Is it when your IPod becomes your own personal Broadway station, when you have more cast albums than you can count in fact you probably have multiple recordings of some from original casts to revival(s) and film versions.

Is it when all your favorite theater sites are bookmarked on your laptop and you might read them more often than actual news websites or TV stations?

Are you a theater nerd when Broadway actors become the equivalent of movie actors to most people?

You probably pride yourself-as you should for knowing who Lea Michele, Jon Groff, Aaron Tveit, Josh Gad, Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth etc. were when they were working on Broadway-you were a fan from the beginning and you own it!

Is it when you have your first obsession of a show complete with signed playbills and all the merchandise that you could your hands on? I know I had a major fan girl moment when I got the opportunity to interview one of the OBC members from one of my obsession shows!

You’ve most likely only seen a few movies in theaters this past year cause you’d much rather be at the theater-in 2013 I went to see three movies:Oz:the Great and Powerful, The Great Gatsby and Frozen.

You have major fan moments when you spot a theater actor on Law and Order or any other NYC based show.

Is it when during the film version of Les Mis you were so excited to see Colm Wilkinson when most others didn’t even know who he was? You probably are more excited than most others for the revival and proudly proclaim that you know who all the leads are.

Is when you realized that you don’t know what’s new on the billboard charts but you know all the new show tunes?

Lets be real you know you’re a theater nerd when the Tony’s is your favorite day of the year-you might or might not have a countdown on your phone.

Is it when the terms, OBC, rush, lotto, TKTS and BCEFA become part of your daily vocabulary?

Is it when your bookshelf becomes filled with theater books-right now Jen Teppers “Untold Stories of Broadway” is my favorite.

Is it when you follow more theater people than you do your friends and family and Broadway Spotted, Broadwaygirlnyc and Jen Tepper become some of your favorite tweeters (and me duh lol just kidding)?

Is it when like how Carrie Bradshaw said she sometimes bought Vogue instead of dinner cause she thought it fed more you feel the same way about the theater?

Is it when your more than willing to wake up at an ungodly hour more than once to go sit in a rush line for a show that you just NEED to see?

Is it when you’ve seen a show more times than you can count but it’s just never enough?

Is it when you have to go see the OBC and then certain replacements in a show?

Is it when you start working to remember the waiters at Ellen’s Stardust Diner so that way you’ll know who they are when they make their Broadway debut?

Is it when the curtain calls make you so happy and you spend countless hours on YouTube watching Broadway videos?

I can go on and on. I know it’s different for everyone, there is no black and white reason or explanation or a definition in the dictionary. Everyone experiences theater differently and not every theater nerd lives in NYC. There is nothing that can compare to live theater and Broadway is just magical-that’s something that we all have in common. So as I finally take a breath and shut my trap tell me when did you realize that you’re a theatre nerd?

XOXO

-Bwagirl828

2014 Bucket List

Hey all! I hope that 2014 has been treating you all well! As we kick off the new year instead of a New Years resolution I’ve written this bucket list of no surprise new shows that I want to see this year and since I’m in a very confident mood right now I’m gonna say that I want to see all of these by Tony night (before nomination day seems a bit um overzealous)! The good news is that I haven’t been procrastinating and I’ve already got tickets to two of these shows already so yay for progress!

Aladdin

Okay as a big Disney fan who grew up during the Disney Renaissance period this was one of many movies that I had on a loop as a kid. Disney never ceases to amaze me with their productions I mean hello Beauty and the Beast, Lion King and Little Mermaid-all beautiful and amazing productions! Disney is great with staying true to the film counterpart whilst adding a few new songs and details. That being said I have very high hopes for this production and since previews start a few days after my birthday hello happy belated birthday gift to me!

Violet

Jeanine Tesori and Sutton Foster- that’s it done its gonna be amazing need I say more?!

If/Then

Okay, this is probably the show that I’m most excited for-more than Les Mis, which is saying a lot for me! When this was announced last year I was so excited if you couldn’t tell from my tweets. Idina Menzel with the creative team of Michael Grief, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey with Anthony Rapp and LaChanze rounding out the cast I cannot wait!

Les Miserables

Les Mis was the show that many years ago was the gateway show for my obsession of the theater. I ‘ve been waiting for them to bring it back and the amazing cast that they have I mean, hello Ramin Karimloo, Will Swenson, Nikki M. James, Keala Settle and Caissie Levy this is bound to be extraordinary! If they could just get Colm to play the Bishop that would just be perfection! I’m gonna make a prediction and say that they race for Best Revival is going to come down between this and Cabaret.

Cabaret

Another classic coming back this spring and I absolutely love it! While no one can be Joel Grey, the original Emcee, Alan Cumming who played the role in last revival as well is perfect for this and I guarantee you he will make the show what it is!

Bullets Over Broadway

Woody Allen and Susan Stroman creative team, Marin Mazzie, Zach Braff and Betsy Wolfe all on the same stage= a beautiful masterpiece that I cannot wait to see!

Hedwig

The hysterical Neil Patrick Harris back on Broadway that is all I have to say!

The Bridges of Madison County

Jason Robert Brown wrote the music and lyrics so you know that it’s going to be beautiful and possibly make you cry. Kelli O’Hara, Derek Klena and Hunter Foster are some of my favorite actors that I can’t believe they are all sharing the stage and I’m thrilled to see Steven Pasquale for the first time.

Of Mice and Men

One of my favorite books and arguably the starriest cast this Broadway season. I’m really interested to see the chemistry these actors and how it’s going to be translated from book pages to the stage.

The Cripple of Inishmaan

I’ve heard nothing but good things about this show from across the pond and since I didn’t get to see him in Equs I’m really interested to see Daniel Radcliffe in a role that is far different that what most of the world is used to.

Rocky

Not only do I want to see the movies iconic moment but it seems like the show is more focused on the romance between Rocky and Adrian that I’m very interested to see if anything is added, what is cut and how the fighting elements are going to be worked in.

Well that’s my list for now who knows I might add one or two more! It’s going to be an exciting spring that I can’t wait to share with all of you! Happy belated New Year everyone!

XOXO

-Bwaygirl828

Haters Back Off

Hey all! First off, I wanna apologize to you all in advance for this rambling post (with a Miranda Sings inspired title) that pertains more to Big Brother than to theater.

If you follow me on twitter or have read my 2-part “Expect the Unexpected” series you know that I am a MASSIVE BB fan-I watch the live feeds the interviews the whole nine yards. We live in a world today that is dominated by the Internet and social media. While all that has tons of positives and benefits like keeping in touch with faraway family and friends, interacting with others with the same interests and from a different standpoint-promotions and business-like ventures for companies, the arts, sports etc. While I’m a “the glass is half-full” kinda girl I have to say that there are also many downsides to this. Besides the obvious and horrible things that are featured on many a “Law and Order” episode there are some that are “haters” or “cyber bullies” out there who use social media-twitter especially to attack and make fun of others who don’t share the same opinions as them. I absolutely don’t condone this behavior. I feel that it is for one wrong, but hurtful and an absolute waste of time. If you have that much time on your hands to hate on others and/or create different accounts to do it on then I’m sorry please go find a hobby or something else with a more positive aspect or benefit towards others and yourself. I’m sorry, while I definitely like to try to keep a pretty positive attitude on here, Twitter and my other social media outlets, I feel like it’s something that I just need to say and get off my chest.

Most of you know that I am a HUGE Amanda/McCranda fan from this past season of Big Brother and as I highlighted in my Expect the Unexpected Part 2 piece, we as a community have undergone and still do so much hate every day just because we love and support Amanda and McCrae. Big Brother has been over for almost 4 months now and hate is still being spewed every single day. Newsflash: the game is over; it’s time to move on. We have our favorites, and you have yours it’s as simple as that. I can’t stand that people continuously attack Amanda on a daily basis because of stuff that happened in the house and her relationship with McCrae. Look, what happened in that house happened months ago, she had since apologized profusely for anything that she said or did that might have offended people. As for her relationship with McCrae if you’re not a fan leave them alone-they are happy and in love-what’s wrong with that don’t we want to have happy people in this world (and yes I’m very tempted to quote that line from Legally Blonde about happy wives!)?! From my interactions with Amanda on twitter and from my friend Soapnanny’s (and fellow NYmafiagirl) blog post about meeting Amanda she is absolutely sweet, kind and genuine (I seriously can’t wait to meet her one day).

Look, none of us are perfect, in fact we are all far from it as the song from Bare: the musical states we’re still “a million miles from heaven.” We all have flaws and we all are working everyday to better ourselves so we can be the best person that we can be. Lets start looking more at the good instead of the flaws in others. You’re not gonna be able to change someone’s opinion about things, not everyone is going to like you and you’re not going to like everyone it’s just a fact of life. So, surround yourself with those that you do (shout-out the McCranda/Royal Mafia family I love you ALL!) both in your personal life and on social media in regards to those you follow, friend on Facebook and interact with. If you don’t really like or care for someone don’t follow them, read their tweets, interviews or like their pages. If you don’t like Amanda and McCrae don’t tweet them or tag them and their fans and family in rude tweets-it’s uncalled for and just rude. Instead focus on sending positive energy to those you like and support. If you’re on the receiving end of hate don’t give them the satisfaction that they want-turn it into a joke, let it roll off your back-hey we can’t help it that love her or hate her Amanda is an obsession! It’s time for haters to let bygones be bygones and move on leaving them, their loved ones and fans alone. As I end this I apologize if I came across in a mean way (I promise I’m not a mean or rude person in any way)- you never know how you can sound on social media. I love you all and again sorry for the rambling. Carry on.

XOXO

-Bwaygirl828(Missy)